Wait For Me
by repressedgenius
Summary: Canon from 5x10. How is Gail going to juggle preparing herself and getting her life in order for Sophie's adoption with a life with Holly-even if they had to go ack to being friends? (San Francisco never happened.)
1. The Lovers & Hermit

**Hey. This is actually from a prompt list I found online.**

**These are the two that's being filled.**

**VI. the lovers — a choice between desire and obligation**

**IX. hermit — solitary**

**Let me know what you think :)**

* * *

Have you ever felt so elated to finally get some weight off your shoulders by overcoming some stupid and completely undoable setback that you ignore some glaringly obvious clues that things aren't quite as wonderful as you thought it was?

Well, Holly _just_ had that epiphany.

From the moment they sat down that night to after they polished off the meal Holly had promised the day before, along with that expensive bottle of wine she was saving for a big date, Gail pretty much kept to herself apart from thanking Holly for the delicious meal. It took all that time for Holly to realise that something was up.

She wasn't wrong.

At first, she had been worried that Gail was behaving that way because her "thing" the night before is turning—if it hadn't already turned—into a _serious "thing"._ That thought brought some remnants of the meal she prepared a little up her throat.

Surely there hasn't been enough time that passed for Gail to already move on from wanting to fix things with her, has it? Gail only confessed her regret at messing things up between them a week ago. In fact, it has only been five days!

Before she could dwell on the possibility that Gail had already moved on from her that speedily, the woman stood to take the plates from Holly's hands and set them in the sink. Gail turned to look at Holly. "Let's go to the couch. I need to tell you something."

At first, she had been relieved. It was petty but she couldn't help it. A small part of Holly was glad that she hadn't been so steadily replaced after that heartfelt confession at the hallway of the station. But as the words slowly come to register in her head, Holly's mouth formed a subtle 'o'. Gail's eyebrows furrowed instinctively when she took note of that expression.

"She's really the sweetest girl that you'll ever meet. So … open to the world, even after how things turned out for her. It's—It's really inspiring," Gail choked up a little when she thought of Sophie's reality now. Despite losing her mother so tragically early, Sophie's openness to the world and people has not wavered in the least. Gail has never felt so connected to another person, other than Holly—but that's quite a different kind of connection that they shared, she concluded.

Holly played with her fingers. She was silent. Gail noted that Holly had been avoiding eye contact for a while now. So, Gail moved her hands to cradle her face, coaxing Holly to look at her. Her brown eyes were a little glassy from unshed tears and Gail swears that she felt a weight dropped in her chest in that moment.

Her eyes had blinked rapidly, perhaps hoping to get rid of the lingering evidence of the storm raging within her. There were too many thoughts clouding her judgement right then. Holly turned her head, leaving Gail's hands hanging in mid-air while she swiped underneath her nose.

"I'm glad you found her. Really, Gail, I'm happy for you. Sophie sounds like the coolest chick ever." They chuckled but the tears that fell from both pair of eyes told truer stories about their feelings.

Despite all the signals, Gail closed the distance between them to a soft kiss, albeit more tentatively. It wasn't sweet. The kiss was melancholic at best. And Holly had reciprocated the caressing with tenderness. They were both suppressing the voice at the back of their head about this kiss being their last by prolonging it further.

* * *

"I'm not saying you _shouldn't_ do it, Gail. But can you stop for a moment and think things through? You're talking about adopting a kid. This girl whose mother you found in the laundry room bleeding to death in your arms after being shot by a stray."

"I **have **thought it through. That's the thing! I have thought about doing this a million of times before I even admitted that I _want to do this. _It's just the more I think about Sophie, the more time I spend with her, the more convinced I am that this is the right thing to do. For Sophie **and myself**. Why's that so hard to believe, huh?"

They were both breathing heavily by then; hearts beating wildly while faces red with frustration and anger. After the revelatory dinner a few nights ago, Holly went home in a daze. For days, she went through all aspects of this decision. First, she thought of the logistics. From Gail being a cop: her work that was in rotating shifts and the added risk that comes with her job, to the fact that she was a single young woman (without a long-term partner) with a lifestyle that mirrored that fact up to this point—it certainly didn't appear to work in her favour.

Then, she thought about her motivations. Was it some twisted version of survivor's guilt? Or did she really form such a strong and instant bond toward the little girl that Gail had felt compelled to be her parent? These were questions that have been dancing around in her head and taunting her ever since but she never felt that it was appropriate to blurt out every time she had seen Gail.

Finally, she thought about their relationship—their new, fragile, and possibly reconciling relationship. The day after Gail had sprung this news onto her, Holly made a conscious effort to remain positive and pretty much blocked all the questions mentioned in order to focus on the fact that they have gotten past the Penny's debacle. She didn't want to jinx things but how could they navigate through Gail adopting an 8 year-old girl when they had broken up over a dumb comment made by Holly's intoxicated friend of which went undefended by Holly? How did Holly fit into the new scale of things?

_She didn't know_ and if there's one thing Holly hated most, it's having uncertainties especially when it came to things that means the most to her.

So, she brought it up again after a quiet night in. Holly finally let her mind speak. All the questions that swam in her head flooded the space in the living room like a tsunami. Gail was flailing at the questions initially. Then, she felt downright insulted by some of them. Anger was always her favourite coping mechanisms and she tapped right into that emotion.

"I'm sorry." _For what?_

Holly paused before adding, "I shouldn't have implied that you hadn't…" She trails off as her gaze focused on the floor.

"No, you shouldn't." She was hurt at Holly's assumption that this decision she's made was done without careful consideration on her part.

Holly lifted her gaze to look at Gail. Her lips curled into her default wry smile but Gail could see a tiny tremble there before she spoke again.

"I need some time." Gail nodded slightly hoping that she continues.

"Maybe I just need more time to wrap my head around this." She swallowed. They were both avoiding thinking about the other end of the statement of 'what if'.

And so, the lovers swayed apart in a bittersweet dance once more hoping that _time _will be the answer to their problems.


	2. The Moon, Justice, and The Star

**These are the prompts filled in this chapter:**

**XVIII. the moon — strange encounters**

**XI. justice — equivalent exchange**

**XVII. the star — signs of life**

**Let me know what you think. There will be 10 chapters in total.**

* * *

The loud vibration of her phone against the bedside table startled Holly from her slumber. She groaned at the interruption but knew it was work because the call was coming from her on-call phone. Sleep was very precious these days thanks to her shift in focus from her love life to her work, both at the morgue and on the new journal article. Despite all her efforts, Gail has not left her thoughts.

There were so many random objects, places, and comments that reminded her of the beautiful officer. First, there was the assortment of food like tomatoes—Gail's kryptonite, eggs, donuts, bourbon, cheesepuffs, and so much more. It was a good thing Holly had been accustomed to avoiding tomatoes being with Gail but eggs…was a constant reminder. Holly stopped having her sunny side ups in the morning and eggs sandwiches in the afternoon.

Then, there was her bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, living room—her whole apartment reminded her of Gail. She had no where to hide because even the morgue held fond memories of their first extended interaction. So for the past two weeks, Holly has been deliberately working on her paper at a café near her apartment, the one that she had been avoiding since moving there two years ago.

"Can you just shut your nerd face?" And just when she thought she was safe from anymore reminders, Holly's ears perk up at a playful remark made by a kid in the hipster crowd that seem to live in that café one afternoon.

It was inevitable. She could not keep Gail away from her thoughts. Gail was a force of nature that simply didn't obey the boundaries of time and space set by Holly, intentional or otherwise. Holly was beginning to accept that fact.

* * *

It happened so quickly, comically so. Holly was approaching the scene and she could see Dov at a distance as she nodded at the rookie. Just like all the other times before, she squatted down to start her preliminary examination of the body. Her gloved hands was just about to pry open the victim's mouth to see if it was suffocation—the man was reeking of alcohol and could've very well choked on his vomit in his sleep—when the guy coughed. His saliva hit her across the cheeks and she stumbled backwards, her heavy boots hit each other and sent her tumbling to the ground. She tried to break her fall with her hands but the weird landing angle just made it worst and Holly could already guess that she broke her wrist. A loud 'crack' could be heard.

"Shit." _Yup. _That was the last thing Holly could remember from before she had woken up at the hospital. The doctor confirmed her assessment that she had broken her wrist, sustaining distal radius fractures to be precise, and had a minor concussion.

Dov had asked her if she needed to call someone, hinting at Gail even with his conservative wording. She nodded slightly with a soft smile. Holly was tired of fighting it. If Gail was already going to be in her thoughts day in and day out, then she might as well be there with her and nursing Holly better.

* * *

"Hey, I came here as soon as I could." Gail's eyes were wide and very alert at the sight of Holly lying on a hospital bed.

"Hmmm? Hey, you." Holly replied dopily. Her glasses were on the table and her eyes squinted. Her speech was slurred and Gail took note of the cast on her wrist.

"What happened?" Gail asked softly while debating if she was allowed to touch or physically comfort the woman before her and how much affection was appropriate to their new complicated status.

Gail knew the jist of what had happened. Dov kept apologizing but all she could think of was getting to Holly and punching the insufferably incompetent rookie. After all, Gerald was the one that excitedly made the call to homicide which then called Holly in only to discover this homeless man was very much alive, just incredibly intoxicated.

"Stupid rookie…" Holly mumbled. She appears to be floating in between consciousness and dreamland. Gail decided that since Holly wanted her here, she was allowed to stroke her cheeks and push her hair from her face. _Friends do that._

"Hey, come on. Don't sleep. Tell me about it." Gail remembered about something regarding concussions and not letting them sleep for too long thanks to teenage Steve. He fell and cracked his skull on the pavement after an awful failed attempt at a skateboard stunt. Their mother was adamant (almost hysterically so—for her standards at least) about not letting him sleep and had kept talking to him throughout the night until Steve was cleared by the doctor. It was one of those few moments that Gail knew how much her parents loved them both.

* * *

"I can walk, Gail. I broke my wrist not my legs." Gail was trying to support her weight walking into her living room where the couch was set up. Apparently, Gail was making her sleep there that night in case they needed to go to the hospital again. That was unlikely, Holly had pointed out, but she was not taking any chances.

"Yeah, but your head is up in the clouds right now and I really don't think you'd want to break your other limbs."

Holly smiled but said nothing, letting Gail sit her down slowly.

"Do you need water? You hungry? I can make us some sandwich." She pulled her hand to stop her from rambling on.

"Sit with me."

They sat there quietly for a couple of minutes. Gail just stared at the books ahead, deep in her thoughts while Holly took every detail of Gail's side profile in.

"I miss you." Gail let out a breath that she didn't realise she had been holding in and turned to look at Holly. Her brown eyes bored into her soul and the corner of her lips curled up in a tentative smile.

"I miss you too." _She did. So much._

* * *

"Well, well, well. What have we here? Did the world go topsy turvy? Why does Chloe look so angry and you look a ball of sunshine?" Steve blows playfully in her face after seeing Gail's massive eye rolling.

"Go away, Steve." She turned to the side to continue tapping her phone with a huge smile still plastered on her face.

"What? No shutting my face? Who are you? Better question: who are you texting?" Steve then leaned over to read over her shoulders. He caught a glimpse of the name before Gail had jerked her phone away and scowled at him.

"Ah, I see you've made up with the good doctor."

"Not exactly." He quirked his eyebrow in question. Gail finish tapping her phone and kept it in her pocket before explaining herself.

"We're… complicated."

"Right."

"It's complicated."

"Understood." And he did, really. The siblings went silent, both pondering upon their similarly complicated relationships. But like a possessed woman, Gail lit up.

"But it's going to be okay."

"Yeah? Why's that?"

"Because we love them and they love us Pecks. More importantly, we're finally growing up."

"No more Pecklings."

"Mmmm… Maybe soon." Gail noticed her slip and quickly excused herself, citing some lame excuse to leave the station. Steve looked around in confusion. He wasn't sure what he heard.

It wasn't until after another Peck dinner during their post-dinner smash fest that Gail confided in him about her adoption application. He kept quiet for a long time. Gail continued drinking. She downed her drinks in quick succession hoping to brace herself for his soon to be judgement. It never came. Steve wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him before kissing her temple.

Gail's eyes watered at the silent encouragement. That night, she told Steve all about Sophie and how much her presence was already changing her life. Gail loved this new (better) version of her. In her head, she added that Holly deserved this version of her too.

It was only a matter of _time. _She could live with that.


	3. The Tower, Strength, and Death

**XVI. the tower — upheaval**

**VIII. strength — endure and outlast**

**XIII. death — turning over a new leaf**

* * *

"You should've just let me get a moving service. Why are we moving all these boxes when I can have other people doing it for me?" Gail placed the last of all the boxes containing her possession on the floor and plopped herself on the only couch in the living room.

She had been complaining ever since Holly insisted on helping her move on the weekend. Her new two-bedroom apartment was partially furnished. So, she only needed to get a new bed and mattress for Sophie and a couch, which had already been delivered yesterday. Chris and Dov were in charge of moving her mattress there the next day. Gail had spent two weeks browsing the ads online looking for a apartment near Sophie's school and not too far from 15th division.

All the apartments looked good in the ads but the minute she stepped foot in it, she hated it. Sometimes, she only needed to look around the neighbourhood to cross it off her list. In the end, Holly got one of her friend who is a part-time real estate agent to find Gail a suitable match.

Even so, it took them a week and five viewings to decide on this apartment.

"Well, our labour is going to cost you two, maybe three boxes of pizza and some beer while the moving service is going to leave you eating bread for the rest of the month." Holly went to the kitchen to wash her hands and got them each a bottle of beer.

Gail accepts the drink while still resting on the couch. "Uh, rude. I have savings you know."

"Then save them." The taller woman pushed her legs aside to sit next to her and then allowed Gail's leg to rest on her thigh. They took a few sips of beer—Gail with her head supported by the armrest to look at Holly's side profile. Holly scans the space and boxes that scattered around the floor. She was already fighting this urge to unpack for Gail.

_Friends can unpack for friends. _

She tried to convince herself but that thought was shot down very soon after when Holly caught sight of them lounging reflected from the television screen. They did _not _look like they were _just friends_. Holly stopped stroking Gail's knees. She lifted her legs and stood up, palms nervously rubbing against the front of her jeans.

"So, pizza?"

* * *

Gail continues her weekly visit to see Sophie. The adoption process was moving along as expected—slowly but Laura assured her that the application had a very high chance of going through. This was especially the case after Gail decided to apply for the next detective rotation and this time putting all the effort required to actually get the job.

Her mother while not completely behind Gail's decision to adopt Sophie because she was struggling to understand Gail's reason in doing it, has finally relented. The drawing that Sophie did in school depicting Gail and Sophie with scoops of ice-cream sitting in a donut is currently being displayed on her parents' fridge.

"What are we celebrating again?" Holly walked through her hallway back into the living room.

"The end of the week." She moved to pick up the phone on the counter while Gail was flipping channels.

"Fair enough." Gail looked over at Holly when she started ordering pizza, loving her new haircut and fresh curls. She sighed deeply.

A week after Gail moved, Holly came by to pass her an extra toaster she had and saw what a mess the apartment was. There were partially unpacked boxes everywhere and even the items that were taken out of the boxes were littered across the floor. She couldn't take it anymore and started unpacking for Gail. Two days later, Gail had finally got rid of all the empty boxes and her place looked like it could house an 8 year-old.

Over the weeks, the both of them resumed hanging out like they used to before dating. Actually, more like before breaking up but without the physical intimacy. The only days they didn't see each other was when Gail was on night shifts or days when she got to meet Sophie.

The grey area that is their relationship was starting to eat into Gail but she didn't know how to bring it up. After all, Holly did say to give her time. So, wasn't that implied that Holly was supposed to make the first move? As for the pathologist, she wasn't sure what there is left to talk about at the moment. Gail's adoption had not officially been approved, although they were expecting it to happen, along with her promotion to detective.

Gail's close involvement in solving the recent gang-related murders was a huge career booster. Thanks to her insight into some of the gang politics that quickly gained her the trust of one of the gang's right hand man, the leading detective was able to find out the perpetrator who then ratted out the opposing gang's hitman. It was a game of falling dominoes after that.

Meanwhile, Holly has been refusing subsequent invites from Gail to spend time with Sophie and herself after the first meeting a month ago with lame excuses and insisting that Gail needed to get to know Sophie first before bringing Holly into the mix. That was a valid point but it wasn't the real reason why Holly was holding back. She was still very much on the fence about dating someone who had so much to juggle, not just adopting Sophie but career wise, things were just about to take off for Gail. Not to mention Gail still has to work on communicating her feelings well and not just run away when she's freaked out about being vulnerable in a relationship.

This time, Holly had to make sure Holly was fine before throwing herself head on into a whirlwind relationship with the beautiful woman sprawling on the couch next to her. Of course, neither brought up this matter of defining their relationship. Both of them are just happy to play along and bask in each other's company like they used to.

Here's the thing about communication: there are two reasons why people don't talk about things; either it doesn't mean anything to them, or it means everything.

There wasn't a doubt about which spectrum the question of their relationship was on for either of them. And therein lies the problem.

Her phone vibrates just as Gail heads off to collect their pizza. It was another message from her old college friend asking to confirm dinner plans that weekend and if Holly would be okay with another friend that she wasn't very familiar with tagged along. She typed a quick reply to confirm that it was fine with her.

Holly was looking forward to reconnecting with some old college friend, Kelly in particular because she didn't ran in the same circle as Lisa and Rachel during college. Kelly majored in Art History and was a curator at one of Toronto's up and coming art galleries from what she knew.

"Seafood for you." Gail passed her the box of pizza and replaced her empty bottle of beer with a new one.

"Thanks. Meaty meat meat for you?"

"Ha ha. No. I got me some Hawaiian. Craving pineapples," She mumbled into her large bite of the pizza. When she lifted the slice away from her face and dragging the string of cheese away, Holly couldn't help but to notice how beautifully long Gail's pale neck was. She swallowed when Gail finally snapped the cheese and started chewing in delight.

She turned to her pizza and shook her head slightly. _They were friends, __**for now **__at least__**.**_

* * *

The next week when Gail was supposed to have Sophie over for dinner and a sleepover, she was called into work urgently. The right-hand man that Gail got to cooperate with them was injured in a shooting. It was a cluster fuck of things that she had to deal with. So, she called the first person she could think of and Holly came.

That wasn't the problem. It was the person that sent Holly to her place. Apparently, Holly was having dinner with some old friends and this person offered to send Holly over since she had one and a half glasses of wine earlier.

"Hey. Thank you so much for coming over."

"Hey, no problem, Gail. Has she eaten dinner?"

"Nah, I didn't have time to get dinner. But she had some cookies earlier."

"Alright, I'll make her something then."

"That would be wonderful. Thank you. I'll call you when I get the chance."

"Yeah, no worries. I'll be here."

"Thanks."

"You already said that but you're welcome. Now go."

Gail open her mouth to say more but she didn't have the words to express how she felt or what she wanted to say so she just pursed her lips and gave a thin smile before walking off.

* * *

When Gail finally got back home, she walked into a scene that reminded her of an alternate universe. The smell of dinner that Holly had whipped up still wafted from her kitchen and a chorus of youthful giggles were heard along with a yelp from Holly. This was what she pictured herself coming back to before she told Holly about starting the adoption process. It was bittersweet to have it under such circumstances.

Pulling a happy face, Gail walked into the living room and greeted Sophie who leaped from the sofa. They were playing Mario Kart, one of Gail's "safe" games with no killing of any kind.

"She's kicking my butt."

"That's to be expected."

"Nuh uh! Holly just needs practice."

"Yeah and you're just a natural, huh." Sophie looks away bashfully from the teasing.

"I should go…"

"No, stay. It's late. You should—you should stay." Gail pleaded with her eyes and Sophie seconded the plea.

"Okay…"

"Yay!" _Maybe things were looking up._

* * *

"Hey, I need a favor."

"Hey. Um—sure. Hold on a sec." Gail vaguely heard the line being muted by presumably Holly's hand.

"Yeah. What's up?"

"I need the recipe to the chicken thing you made for Sophie."

"Oh! The chicken tenders with honey mustard? Yeah, sure."

"Yeah… I kind of need them now. She's been asking for it and I finally have to time to make it. So…"

"Oh, yeah. It's super easy. Actually I can send you the link of the recipe online. It's the same one I used anyway."

"Great!" Gail paused. The line was silent for a moment. She was trying to think of a way to ask what Holly was doing and possibly extend the invite once more but before she could think of one, Holly had spoken.

"Um. I'm kind of in a middle of something. I'll send you the link."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks."

"No problem." She pursed her lips. Two minutes later her phone notified her of a message. She opened the link and smiled. A Martha Stewart recipe. _Of course it was._


	4. The Emperor & The Chariot (Part a)

**I decided to split this chapter up. It felt natural to end that there.**

* * *

The thing about "being in a complicated relationship" as Facebook likes to put it is that this uncertainty is not just contained within that relationship, but it seeps into your other relationships as well. Holly was starting to understand how her more-than-friends-but-less-than-lovers situation with Gail is affecting her meeting new people.

Growing up, Holly was never one to be caught up in overtly dramatic romance, especially when she was dating the opposite sex. Even the relationships she had with women in college were fairly free of drama. She may be a hopeless romantic but a messy dater she was not. When it came time to let go of a romantic relationship, Holly had not problem doing so and following the social expectations of being an ex.

Gail, however, as she concluded a few weeks ago was a force of nature that defied all of it. Try as she might, Holly still found herself second-guessing how acceptable it would be to go out and meet with other people—people that are friends, first and foremost, but with a slight potential of being more.

The dinner she had with Kelly and her friend, Kate turned out to be quite a success. Kate was an artist and had very recently moved into the city from Vancouver. Holly was meeting the both of them the night that Gail called to ask if she could come over and hang out with Sophie for a bit while she attended to some emergency at work. She was having fun recounting college tales and reconnecting with old friends when she saw Gail's name flashing on her phone.

During that short call, Holly could not help but feel like she had been caught with her hand inside the cookie jar. Kate had been playfully flirting with Holly most of the night and while it was just some harmless playful banter to Holly, she did feel the pinch of guilt after she took the call. When she returned to the table, she apologised and explained that a friend needed her to "babysit" urgently. Holly left very soon after that but not before making plans to meet again soon.

That night, she made some chicken tenders for Sophie and played video games with her—attempted to anyway. Her fantastic hand and leg coordination in many sports did not prepare her for most video games. When Gail came home, Holly felt a sense of melancholy wash through her body. This felt very much like a family scene that she pictured herself with Gail early on in their relationship when they were still in their small bubble of love. She stayed awake for most of the night in Gail's bed alone while the other woman took the couch.

* * *

Holly reached the restaurant 15 minutes later than she intended. She had under-estimated the traffic and the availability of parking space near the joint. She scanned the bar looking for the Kelly when she spotted the familiar figure by the bar.

"Hey, where's Kelly?" Holly asked the red-headed woman.

"Oh, didn't she text you?" Holly shook her head and they moved away from the bar to get a table.

"Her key feature is throwing a fit over some lighting spec that is apparently not up to standard."

"Well, that sucks."

"Yeah, completely. But hey, we can still have a good dinner. Maybe she'll get that under control and join us in a bit." She shot a quick smile at Kate before focusing on the menu, not really reading it because she already knew what she was going to order. Holly was silently hoping that Kelly would show up soon. She needed a buffer if Kate was going to keep up with her flirting.

The waiter came by and took their orders. Kate was just asking her what she's been up to when her phone rang.

"Sorry, I have to get this. Do you mind?" Kate shrugged with her hand gesturing her to go ahead and answer it.

It was Gail again.

She was asking her about the recipe Holly used the other night when she cooked for Sophie. At first, Holly was shocked that Gail was trying to learn the recipe, and if she was really honest with herself, Holly felt slightly jealous that this personal growth coming from Gail was being brought on by someone other than herself. But that petty side of her was quickly confronted by feelings of pride and joy for Gail.

Holly returned to the table still a little dazed from the call. The reality of their non-relationship dawned onto her when she thought about how much she wanted to be there with Gail and teach her to cook—probably teasing her clumsy mistakes and smudged cheeks. Instead, Holly was at this fancy restaurant with another woman that was not Gail. Their food came and she told herself to focus on that for now.

Surprisingly, Kate toned down her cheeky banters and it was an enjoyable dinner. Kate told her all about traveling Europe and being the poor artist after graduation before finally landing a small feature in a friend's gallery in Paris which lead her to some lucrative commissions. Holly explained to her about her path to being a forensic pathologist and inevitably sharing some of her nerd jokes and anecdotes on old professors. If it had been a date and Holly had never met Gail, then she would already be planning a second date.

Holly just got out of a long hot shower when her phone sounded. It was Gail's ringtone that she set a while back but never got around to change it. After slipping into a thin shirt and some sleep shorts, Holly checked her phone.

* * *

**_How does NASA organise a party?_**

**_They planet._**

**_Darn it. How did you know that already?_**

**_I saw that one coming light years ago._**

**_Alright, alright. Show-off._**

She toweled her hair slowly and contemplated a reply but another message came in. Holly settled her feet under the covers and sat up against her headboard, anticipating one of Gail's entertaining streams of messages for the night.

**_Sophie drew a picture of us._**

**_Of her and me, I mean._**

**_With a donut and cookies and cream ice-cream in the middle._**

**_How do you know it's cookies and cream ice-cream?_**

**_Holly, the only flavour worth drawing is cookies and and cream._**

**_Nuh uh. Rum and raisins are the best. Mmmmm…_**

**_HAHA. Gotcha._**

**_?_**

**_I made you crave ice-cream, didn't I?_**

**_Maybe. Depends. Are you bringing me some? Because I just sunk into my bed. I'm not getting up until the morning._**

**_Pig. No. I was hoping you'd bring ME ice-cream._**

**_No deal._**

They texted back and forth well into the next morning about random topics and shared many bad jokes until Holly finally fell asleep waiting for Gail's reply something regarding dream interpretation.

* * *

It was a busy week at the morgue. The courier was sick so every report they finished, the detective in charge or a police officer had to come by and get it, in case of theft or tampering. Apparently there was a case a few years back where the whole autopsy report was stolen and then left at the victim's family's doorstep, garnering a lot of media hoo-ha. Which is why the chain of contact for all reports had to be restricted to a sequence of lab and morgue personnel to the detective or officer in charge through a screened courier.

All this red tape and no Gail in sight, Holly was very much done with this week. She needed to blow some steam off at the gym after another long day of autopsy of blunt force trauma victims—a woman and a child. Victims of domestic abuses always got her the most. They usually sustained years and years of abuse before ending up in her table. It was almost an impossible feat for Holly to record all of the injuries without needing to take a moment or two to gather herself and resume.

Holly was just about to step off the treadmill when she felt a tap on her arm. She saw a smiling Kate at the corner of her eye. "Hey." Holly pulled her earphones out and turned the machine off to face her.

"Hey, fancy seeing you here. You come around often?" _Oh, that's back._

Holly looks around the gym to see two other joggers and man lifting weights by the corner. "Only when necessary." Kate took the liberty to scan her body when she did. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Are you leaving already?"

"Mmm hmm. I'm done." Holly spared her polite smile. She could see where it was going and was trying to nip the dinner invitation at the bud with her short answers.

"Care to join me for some dinner then?" _Obviously failed._

"Actually, I think I'm going to just head back home. It's been a long day and I just want to get this day over with."

"Oh, come on. It's just dinner. Dinner, some company and good conversation." _Sounds like a date. _

Holly didn't say anything for a few seconds. She was trying to think of a diplomatic refusal and it was obvious.

"Look, I may have come on too strongly earlier, or whatever, but I really enjoyed our time together and I just—I thought you did too." Holly almost agreed then.

"This will be a _friendly_ dinner. Nothing more." Kate added before she finally accepted the invite.

"I promise I won't even mention how hot you look after workout…again," came the cheeky reply. She just rolled her eyes and led the way.

* * *

They ended up having dinner at a diner near the gym and Kate spends most of the time making fun of Rachel whom she (very ironically) judges for being such an entitled elitist. This was the first time where Holly felt like they could really be friends. Without the incessant flirting, Kate was still charming as hell.

When Holly got home, she went straight to the showers again. It was a force of habit more than a need for cleanliness. Holly fished out her phone from her workout bag and saw the blinking light.

"Hey, sorry. I just read your text. What's up?"

The answering voice whispers, "I, uh—I got the job, Holly." An intense feeling of pride and happiness spread across her.

"That's wonderful, babe. You deserve it." Gail's breath hitches at the familiar term of endearment.

"Yeah, I don't know about that—"

"Gail…"

"No, I mean my mom actually broke the news to me earlier and—"

"Listen, Gail. You worked hard for this. Really, really hard and that's coming from a workaholic like me. This is all you, Gail. Everyone knows that." _You should too._

"Yeah." The line goes silent for a moment.

"Hey, let's celebrate. Come on over. I'm too lazy to move right now."

"Oh, yeah? And how are we gonna celebrate?" Holly ignores the flirty tone in her voice.

"I have two tubs of ice-cream. You can get a donut if you want. I'll even throw in some alcohol to get you over."

"Alright, alright. Be there in 10."

"No speeding, detective."

"Yes, doctor."

* * *

They were having their second helping of ice-cream, cookies and cream for Gail and rum and raisin for Holly, when there was a lull in conversation. Both of them have had a just the right amount of alcohol in their system to notice how sticky their fingers were from the clumsy jerking of the bowls filled with melted ice-cream. Some random reality show was playing on the television in the background.

Gail opens her mouth to say something when the doorbell rang. Holly excuses herself to answer it, both wondering who was at the doorstep at 10pm. She frowned when she saw the person through the peephole. Holly opened the door tentatively and was careful to leave enough space for herself and block the view inside and out of the living room.

"Hey, what're you doing here? And how did you know where I live?"

Kate chuckled and lifted a purse in the air. "You left this in my car."

Holly suddenly remembered walking to the gym earlier and coming back in Kate's car. _Of course._

"Yeah, no. Thanks for dropping it."

"No problem." Kate eyed the small opening of the door into her place as if asking for permission to enter.

"Who is it?" Gail joins her by the door and she reluctantly pulled the door away to introduce these two women.

"It's just my friend, Kate. Kate, this is Gail. Um. She was just returning my purse."

_Awkward._

"Yeah. It was nice meeting you. I think I should head off now. See you soon, Holly."

"Bye." Holly tried not to slam the front door after Kate left.

* * *

"Are you seeing her?" Gail finally broke the silence that fell after they retired into the living room following the awkward introduction.

She pulled her vacant stare at the television to look at Holly who was still staring intently at her melted ice-cream. She continued playing with the sticky fluid with her spoon for a few seconds before looking up and meeting Gail's eyes.

Holly licked her lips and swallowed. "No, I'm not." The other woman visibly relaxes upon hearing that.

"The old Holly would. I would've been dating her for a while now if I hadn't met you." _And fallen in love with you._

Gail's breath catches and Holly continued with her line of confessions, "Right now, I'm just trying to stick around. I don't want to mess this up." _Mess __**us**__ up._

She had to bite her lower lip to stop it from quivering. Gail moved towards her, their knees touching and her left hand cradled Holly's face. She caressed Holly's cheek lovingly before slowly eliminating the space between their faces. Holly closed her eyes to welcome the touch of Gail's lips. She was expecting it on her own lips when Gail maneuvers to plant a sweet kiss on her lower left cheek instead. A breath of disappointment was released.

Gail lingered in the rare proximity and rested her forehead on Holly's temple. _"I love you," _She mouthed.

They hug for the longest time following that silent declaration, neither really wanted to let go. But Gail finally pulled herself away from Holly's warmth when she felt a sniffle coming from the other woman.

"Good night, Holly," Gail whispered.

* * *

**Let me know what you think about it!**


	5. The Emperor & The Chariot (Part b)

It was frustrating for Holly. Not talking about things between them was frustrating. If there was a threshold to working out a relationship without actually talking about feelings and dealing with them, then Holly was meeting it.

But it would be hypocritical of her to judge Gail for leaving her the other night. She knew that. After all, she basically did the same when Gail finally opened up to her on the night of the severed thumb case.

So, she keeps quiet. They get to keep pretending that everything is alright.

Until it isn't anymore.

"Ah, Dr. Stewart. Stoning in your office, are we?"

"Mmm… More like a brain fart." They chuckled. Sophie said that the other night. Gail has been using it ever since.

"So I'm about to finish my shift in say… eleven minutes. Do you want to grab dinner?"

"Oh, I, uhm, meeting a friend later. For dinner. Sorry."

She nodded. "Yeah. No, don't be. I was just asking." Gail looked around her office.

She pointed at the purple crane origami, "Is that—"

"Sophie's, yeah. She thought me how to fold it the other day." A half-suppressed laugh escaped from her lips. "I'm supposed to make a hundred of those by this week."

"Oh, wow. She got to you too, eh?" Holly lifted her brows, "Big time. I haven't had an assignment this stressful since medical school."

They just stared at each other. It wasn't until someone passed by the open office that they broke the trance.

"Well, I should go." She gave a small, awkward wave before turning around.

One step.

Two steps.

On the third step she took outside the morgue's exit, Gail stopped.

She went back inside, striding with purpose, invigorated somehow by her earlier musings. They needed to stop tiptoeing around the problem. They needed to communicate. For once, Gail was ready to talk it out. Heck, she will even initiate this damn conversation if it meant that they could be together at the end of it.

Gail lifted her hand and was about to knock on the closed door when she heard the beginning of a one-sided conversation.

She frowned.

"Hey, I was just about to call you."

"Mmm. Yup. I can do that."

"Alright, sure. See you soon. Bye."

Suddenly, something clicked. Kate.

Driven by her earlier momentum, Gail opened the door with more force than required. The motion clearly startled Holly who was up gathering her stuff.

"Are you meeting Kate?" She shot.

"Yes, I am." Holly stared at her blankly, challenging her. Well, she wasn't backing down now.

"Why? What happened to 'sticking around'?" Her raised voice earned her a hard look from Holly.

The taller woman starts packing up again, more forcefully now. Holly takes a deep calming breath and stopped her movements. She straightened up and stared at Gail.

"I meant what I said the other night." Gail made a sound of disbelief. "Kate is just a friend, Gail," Holly stressed.

She went on and added,"And just because we're on a pause, doesn't mean I have to stop living my life. I'm allowed to have friends, Gail."

A pause. They were on a pause? Gail mused.

She snapped out of her defensive stance immediately. They were on a pause. Gail almost smiled at that. It wasn't over. There was her proof.

Now, she just needed to fix the mess she just made. Holly's nostrils were still flaring periodically at her deep intake of breaths. No doubt, she was trying to calm herself.

Gail swallowed thickly, "I'm sorry. That was—"

"Dumb? Presumptuous? Selfish? Abrasive? Yeah, take your pick." Holly snarked back.

She nodded submissively, accepting all of the above characterization of herself.

"I'm sorry."

"I know. You were impetuous again."

"I was."

"But…" Gail lifted her head to meet Holly's eyes. "I'm glad you said something."

Even at a time like this, Holly had a tiny wry smile on. "We need to talk."

"Yeah." Her voice cracked slightly.

"But not now. I really need to go. Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow." Holly smiled tightly at her and left the office.

* * *

Gail was just exiting the changing room when she bumped into someone. With her infamous scowl on, she looked up ready to tear the person a new one.

"Gail! So good to bump into you." He chuckled at the lame joke, if you can even qualify that as one. She put on a fake smile.

"Peter Kemp. You're hilarious, you know that?" They hugged.

"Yup. Been told. Anyway, congratulations on making the D." Gail pulled her face at the expression.

"Thanks. I see my mom has been busy boasting." He just smiled.

"Hey, listen. I have an interesting case that I've been working on and I need eyes around here this week. You want in?" He passed her the file. She was roughly scanning the words—identity theft, woman, artist—and then the photograph of the suspect captured her attention.

Gail squinted at it. "So?"

"Hmmm?" She looked up in confusion when Peter grabbed a hold of the file again, gently prying it away from her.

"You in?"

She steeled her glance. "Definitely."

"Great. Let me brief you then."

* * *

At first, her instinct told her to find Holly. Get to Holly and tell her the truth. Then, she calmed herself down and went through the facts.

This was still an open investigation—one that she had just been involved in. It was also a pretty high profile case. Apparently, Kate has "allegedly" stolen the identity of an heiress a couple of months back. And while the quarter million didn't even put a dent in her yearly trust fund money, she was not happy about being cheated on. Literally.

According to the file, Kate has been the suspect of multiple identity theft incidents but because some of the victims (all female) were too far in the closet. They couldn't link Kate to them without inadvertently outing the victims, which spooked them enough to drop the case.

Logically, she knew that while Holly was at great risk of being Kate's next victim, Gail also acknowledged the fact that telling Holly now could risk tipping Kate off somehow. Besides that, Gail was sure Peter knew about Kate's recent involvement with Holly and was intending to use her as bait.

Of course, she knew that she could essentially protect Holly. By being on the case and monitoring closely, she could get enough dirt on Kate without Holly falling prey to her tricks. In the end, it was the thought of Holly getting hurt—emotionally even that didn't sit well with her.

* * *

She rapped the door in short and loud knocks, not caring in the least about waking the neighbours up. As expected, Holly was already dressed in her sleep clothes when she answered the door.

"Gail? What's wrong?" She surged forwards and pushed the both of them in before turning to lock the front door.

"I need to tell you something."

"Can't this wait?" Holly sat on the couch. "No, it can't. Just… hear me out, okay?"

Holly nodded. "I've been put on a case. It's—it's an ongoing investigation, um, on some identity thefts that's been happening."

"Okay?" Holly looked on confused. "It's Kate." There. She said it.

"What?"

"The suspect is Kate." She explained, "She's been going at it for years and basically has never left enough evidence behind to be charged formally for it."

Holly looked like a fish out of water. Her mouth opened and closed every time she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words for it. Gail sighed loudly and moved to join Holly on the couch.

"I'm not supposed to tell you."

She sucked her lips in and exhaled in defeat. The adrenaline was finally coming down.

"Okay." Gail's tensed face broke into a smile. She turned to look at Holly on her right. She looked deep in thought.

"You've said that already." Holly blinked and met her eyes.

"You know, it was familiar." They smiled softly, playing the same words again.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Just—" Avoid her. Gail was going to say.

"I mean I want to help." She bit her lip in contemplation. "Okay. Just act like you don't know a thing."

"Oh, that's easy." She quipped.

* * *

**Okay. Here's the thing. I didn't planned on going to a lot of detail what happens with Kate and her investigation. **

**But, I feel like maybe I should now with how the story is heading. Let me know what you think!**


	6. The Empress

**[ This took forever! I've been busy with exams and well, life. **

**It got too big a chapter with everything I had planned initially, so I decided to break it up again. **

**So, really I don't know how many chapters I'd end up with now that I keep having to expand.**

**Not a bad thing I hope! Let me know what you think :) ]**

* * *

She sat down with two cups of hot chocolate, "You need to cancel all of your credit cards now and pass me your purse." Holly took the beverage with a soft thanks and tucked her leg under her knee.

"What? Why?"

"She stole your purse the other night."

"I might've dropped it."

"She's a thief, Holly."

"Allegedly."

"I'm a police officer, not a lawyer."

"Touché." Holly took all the cards in her purse out and laid them on the table, sorting the credit cards that needed to be cancelled. Gail picked up her purse to go through it because you can never be too careful.

"But if I cancelled them, then how is that pretending I don't know anything?"

She picked up one of the cards that was facing backwards and stuck in the tighter compartment. "I haven't gotten that far yet. Oh my God."

"What?"

"This was you?" She squinted at the photo-id.

Holly made a quick move to snatch the card. "Gimme that." But, Gail was faster.

"Oh my God! You look so nerdy!" She was struggling to breathe between laughter but still managing to keep the card away from Holly's hands. Half of the taller woman's body was leaning on her and the realization of their proximity allowed Holly that pause needed to get the card back.

"This was a life time ago…" She muttered begrudgingly.

By the time she kept it her purse again, Gail moved closer towards her. Her blue eyes were trained on Holly's parted lips. As if stuck in a trance like state, she reached out to trace it with her thumb.

Holly held her breath in anticipation. This time, Gail pulled her in and kissed her in one swift move. Wet lips caressing hers with so much love and care. Her hands reached up and cupped the pale neck. She deepened the kiss—plunging her tongue in and coaxing Gail's timid muscle to dance with hers like before.

It wasn't long until the muscle memory kicked in and they were fighting for dominance. They only stopped when they realized how distracted they were by the kiss that breathing took a backseat.

Short, warm air breathing out onto their flushed faces by each other only made it more sensual. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on hers.

When both of their breathing evened out, Gail pulled away but not before rubbing their noses together a gently.

"I love you." The confession sends unshed tears to Holly's eyes along with a quivering lip.

She finally swallows her emotions and kisses Gail's worries away. 

* * *

The next time Gail saw Peter, he wasn't as pleased. In fact, he looked downright pissed off. Mentally preparing herself in case he knew about her letting Holly in on the open investigation—it was his case after all and one that he had been working for a long time. Peter pulled her aside in a hurry, away from the dispersing crowd after the morning briefing.

"There's a new development. I think I found an accomplice or at least the bitch's contact within all those ladies' circle."

"You don't seem happy about it."

"The bitch ran. We can't find her. She must've sneaked out last night or early this morning in between switches of the surveillance team."

"Okay. So, we have to focus on the contact now, right?"

"Yeah, here's the thing. We don't know who it is."

"What? But you just said—"

"The contact has been a lot more careful apparently. From what we've gathered from the victims, she switches up her alias, her hair, her accent, even her back story."

"Then how do you know it's the same person?"

"She's good. But not that good. My best guess is that this contact ditched schmoozing with the Pradas before handing them over to the bitch to something more legal."

"Okay, now you're just showing off. Quit speaking in codes, Kemp."

"Well I think these two go way back. So, I did a little digging and found out that Kate was an art major—"

"You're thinking college buddies then?" He nodded impatiently.

"Great. Listen, leave that to me. Okay?" Gail started backing away quickly with her hand extended towards him, sort of like a gesture to keep him from following her. It worked. The detective turned around looking baffled. He'll just have to trust the Peck then. Even if it is the littlest Peck.

* * *

Gail stood outside of Holly's office. It was all very déjà vu to her, being here and seeing the brilliant woman she was in love with trying to concentrate on the report before her with an almost vacant eyes. She cleared her throat loudly. That shook Holly out of her stupor.

"I wasn't aware that stoning is part of your job requirement, Dr Stewart. If I had known, then maybe I'd have gone to medical school. Slug it out a couple of years before stoning away at work." The massive eye roll was instantaneous, followed by a sound of mocking disbelief.

She scoffed, "No, you wouldn't." _Wouldn't—not __**couldn't**__. _The smirk on her face morphed into a fond smile, as it always did when it came to Holly.

"Hey." The belated greeting came out from her like a croak.

"Hey." Holly bit her lower lip when she took a quick glance at the slightly bruised lips. She hadn't been able to concentrate at work all morning. The kiss—or more accurately make out session that they had the night before still fresh in her mind (and on her sore lips). They didn't go much further than a little groping over the clothes in between passionate kisses that night.

After a particular hard tug of her lip, Gail was the one that backed away from her pathetic whimpering (she was so turned on) and put a stop to it before clothes really did come off. She took a moment to centre herself; they both did before she finally said we should talk.

It was as if the universe had wanted to keep the talk away because as soon as those familiar words were uttered, her phone rang. Not her private one. The work one. She reluctantly answered it with an apologetic look to the new detective. As expected, there was a body found in the park. So, they agreed to postpone the talk once more.

"Sorry to interrupt your very serious and very official staring blankly into report session, but I have some news and some questions for you."

Holly pushed her chair away from the desk, focusing all her attention on Gail instead. She gestured Gail into her office, "Okay, then come on in." She pulled the glasses off her face and massages her closed eyes for a second.

"So, what's the news?"

"The good news is you don't have to worry about Kate anymore."

"You got her?"

"Not yet. She left—escaped the surveillance team put on her."

"That's…" Holly trailed off, not really knowing what to respond.

"Yeah. It's not ideal but I think we have a lead which brings me to some questions."

"Right. For me." She nodded, eager to provide any answers that may help them reprimand Kate.

"How did you meet Kate?"

"According to her, we met in my second year of university. But I don't remember that and trust me, I would've remembered." Gail swallowed her jealousy away for the moment.

Holly went on to explain, "I just didn't have much of a social life to begin with back then so, any prolonged human interaction would've been noted. But ah, Kelly was the one that introduced us."

"Kelly?"

"Yeah. We shared a course together in my first year. It was an elective for me. She just got back into town not long ago…" Holly frowned as if the dots suddenly connected. "Is it her? Does she have anything to do with the case?"

Gail debated in her head whether to share more details on the case—a very active one at that. Ultimately, Holly's signature head tilt made her concede.

"We don't know yet."

"But you think she's involved." It wasn't a question. Holly read her like an open book. Gail licked her lips and once again, she was briefly distracted.

The glint in Gail's eyes showed that she noticed it. "I just want to cover all our bases." The reserved nature of her speech made Holly smirk. She did speak Gail.

Gail was about to ask her not to worry about the case when they heard the distinct sound of growling. _Oh, Holly. _She chuckled at the woman's innate ability to suppress all bodily desire for food whenever there's a pressing case in front of her.

"I'd say we deserve pizza."

The forensic pathologist scrunched her nose, "Again?"

"Fine. Your choice then, m'lady." She exclaimed with an exaggerated bow towards the door.

* * *

After a quick phone call to Peter, Gail drove the both of them to a nearby Thai restaurant. Lunch was less … conversational. It wasn't awkward. What remained silent between them was expressed through looks and lingering touches instead.

Holly would pass her the cutlery or cup, brushing their fingers and arm for longer than what was deemed necessary. Similarly, Gail sat closer to her at the booth, their hips almost touching. Whenever she wanted to reach over for a plate on the other side of the table, she would lean in slowly and a little more than usual.

The giddy smile exchanged towards the end of the meal when they were sharing a Thai Iced tea (it was too big a cup for either of them after the feast) did not go unnoticed by the waitress serving them.

Following the immensely satisfying long lunch, Holly stopped her from starting the car once they were in it. She turned to Gail and pulled the hand on the steering wheel firmly. Cupping her face with the other hand, Holly licked lips when she saw Gail's tongue appear out of natural reflex to wet her own in anticipation.

The kiss they shared then was unhurried. Soft. It was sensual and the best kind. Actually all kisses with Holly was _the best kind. _

When it ended, Holly remained close, nuzzling her nose like she did at The Penny on _that _night. It made her heart heavy when she thought about all the time wasted because of her fear. Gail was determined _not_ to let fear drive her away—drive this amazing woman she was in love with away for good this time.

She simply had to.

"I love you."

And with that simple declaration from Holly, she felt her heart surge with joy. She felt big. So full of love. It was more than she could imagine or hope for. This wonderful feeling of love. And it being explicitly reciprocated.

She pulled Holly in for another kiss. This time more urgent and passionate than the previous. Their bruised lip felt even more tender then.

"Will you go on a date with me?" Holly had shyly asked after untangling herself from Gail. The demure look on her face made her chuckle amusedly. Only Holly could be so adorably shy when asking her out on a date after they had practically made out with each other in her car.

"No." Holly finally looked up, clearly shocked at her answer. She rested her palms on Holly's face and it softens immediately. Thumbing her cheeks, much like the doctor did in the tub after Gail cut her own hair off, Gail leaned forward.

Their lips barely a centimeter apart, she whispered, "I get to ask this time."


End file.
